Need beach reads?

I love, love to read! I read every night to wind down before I go to bed, and since I can't think of anything else to write, Leila's in bed and my hubby's at hockey I thought I'd recommend some of the books I've read over the last month or so. **WARNING: If you don't like fluffy chicklit, you probably won't like any of these**

"Lovehampton" by Sherri Rifkin is a very quick read. (Tori) Miller is still recovering from a break up two years ago, and after a reality TV show makeover, her friends convince her to rent a summer house, with similarly-aged strangers, in the über posh Hamptons. Several characters are introduced pretty early on, which made this book a little hard to follow for about a chapter, but once you get the hang of who everyone is this is a good book. The characters are predictable, but enjoyable and you can pretty much tell who's going to end up with who in the end (but in what chicklit can't you?) If you want a quick, beachy read, go for "Lovehampton"



"The Wedding Girl" is by far my favorite Madeleine Wickham book. Madeleine Wickham writes under the pseudonym Sophie Kinsella for her "Shopaholic" series and a few others, and I can see why she does, as the writing tone seems to be a bit different (still chicklit, but not as fluffy) when she writes as Wickham. Main character Milly marries a gay man at age 18 so he can get his Visa and stay in London. They drift apart, and lead separate lives but now Milly is engaged and finds out that the divorce never went through. This book sucked me in with the main story and another engaging plot going on throughout. The cover makes it out to be much lighter than it actually is. I couldn't put "The Wedding Girl" down until it was done. Brilliantly written with plenty of likable and quirky characters. I highly recommend this one!

"Queen Takes King" is my favorite book to date by Gigi Levangie Grazer. I've read her other books - "Maneater" and "The Starter Wife" and liked them, but this one I really liked. At 384 pages this isn't a super short, read in a couple hours book, but it's worth it. Cynthia Powers finds herself in a high profile divorce, from her pig of a husband, Jacks Powers after 25 years. Her lesbian daughter, Vivienne is a great character who tells her mom like it is, and helps her regain her old self back, while still maintaining a relationship with her dad. This story would play out so nicely on "The Real Housewives of New York" and made me feel like I knew a piece of glamorous New Yorkers for a little while.


I just finished "Hope in a Jar" by Beth Harbison this morning, on my back patio with a glass of pineapple juice during my perfect lazy Sunday morning : ) Allie is facing her 20-year high school reunion 25 pounds overweight, and on the heels of a nasty breakup. She runs into her once-best friend at the reunion, whom she'd had a falling out with (we learn why eventually) several years before. Something interesting happens with a mutual friend that brings the two together. At the beginning of every chapter there's a slogan from various beauty products throughout the years. It was fun reading slogans I remember from when I was younger (Love's Baby Soft perfume, Lip Smackers, Finesse shampoo, etc.) This book is well-written and unfolds nicely for the first 250 pages or so, but then wraps up too quickly. It's a good, not great book, but if you're a fan of Harbison's Shoe Addicts Anonymous (my favorite of the three) or Secrets of a Shoe Addict I'll bet you'll like this one too.

Like I said, I love to read (especially chicklit if you couldn't tell!) and have lots, and lots of books. If you haven't checked out www.goodreads.com yet I highly recommend it. You can connect with book lovers, like myself and get lots of interesting reviews and book recommendations. Happy (summer) reading!